Ironer



H. 2.. SOBLE March 29, 1960 IRONER 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. HARRY Z. SOBLE BY E W QN F lrr Filed April 28, 1958 ATTORNEY H. Z. SOBLE IRONER Filed April 28, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. HARRY Z. SOBLE BY LW TTORNEY and removing condensate.

IRONER Harry Z. Soble, Chicago, 11]., assignor to Super Laundry Machinery Co., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Michigan Application April 28, 1958, Serial No. 731,420

2 Claims. (or. 38-57) This invention relates to an improved ironer for industrial or institutional use and more particularly to a novel method for performing the ironing in a quicker and better way.

In normal ironing practice, damp flatwork is pressed between a roller and a chest. Heat is supplied to the chest in order to obtain efiicient ironing. This practice does not transfer sufiicient heat to the flatwork to accomplish complete drying thereof and, therefore, it is necessary to further pass the ironed fiatwork back through the ironer, so that the fiatwork is dried by the heat given on by the chest. Generally this is accomplished by conveyor belts or ribbons passing beneath the chest. It is apparent that an important improvement is obtained in an arrangement which eliminates this maze of conveyor belts and/or ribbons and also the concomitant gear and chain mechanism, as well as the motivating means necessary for driving this equipment. Furthermore, the time required to complete the ironing is considerably reduced by eliminating the extra time con-- sumed in returning the ironed flatwork back through the ironer.

Another major disadvantage to such ironers is that heat is supplied only to the chest and, therefore, difficulty is encountered in obtaining uniform distribution of the heat. Thus, heat is supplied only to the bottom side of the fiatwork, with the result that the underside of the flatwork is at a higher temperature than the upperside. Also, when the ironing is completed and the ironer is shut down, heat from the chest is directed against the underside of the roller which is now motion- .less and the continuous heating will damage the padding on this portion of the roller.

In accordance with the present invention, the above disadvantages are avoided and improved ironing is achieved. This is accomplished by supplying heat to both the chest and the roller, thereby providing sutficient heat to effect optimum ironing and also applying heat to both sides of the fiatwork. The pressed flatwork is completely dry and is removed from the ironer without the necessity of further passing the same through the ironer as required in prior methods.

Any suitable flatwork may be ironed by the novel method of the present invention. It is understood that the term fiatwork is used in a generic sense to include fabric, cloth, linen, woolen, etc. While a single pair of roller and chest may be employed, generally two or more pairs of rollers and chests are used and more particularly two, four, six, eight, ten or more pairs of rollers and chests. V

The invention will be explained in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. side view of an ironer and illustrates the method of supplying heat to the rollers and the withdrawal of the condensate therefrom. Figure II is an enlarged detail of the connection at the roller for introducing steam Figure III is a view of the opposite side of the ironer and illustrates the method of 2,930,153 Patented Mar. 29, 1960 supplying heat to the chests. Figure IV is an enlarged detail illustrating the method of attaching the steam header to the framework.

Referring to Figure I of the drawings, numeral 1 designates the left side frame when facing the front of the ironer. The corresponding right side frame is illustrated in Figure III and will be described subsequently. Generally both side frames are identical and are cast iron box type, although they may be of any suitable material and may be of the same or different construction. In the case here illustrated, the side frames are bolted together by heavy tie rod 2 secured by nut 3. It is understood that any other or additional suitable means of attaching the side frames may be employed.

The drawingsillustrate five pairs of rollers and chests.

suitable header, not illustrated, or the condensate may be disposed of in any other suitable manner.

Suitable padding, not illustrated, will be attached to the rollers prior to use. Any suitable padding may be used and may comprise cotton, linen, duck, canvas,etc. The padding is applied to the rollers in any suitable manner, such as by means of clips, springs, pins, etc[ In the case here illustrated, feed bracket 24 is firmly attached to side frame 1 in any suitable manner. When desired the feed bracket may be cast as an integral part of the side frame. In operation, the fiatwork is fed into the ironer on belt or ribbon 25, passed between the rollers and chests, and withdrawn as indicated at 26.

In the interest of simplicity, the gear, chain and motor mechanism for motivating the rollers, ribbons or belts, and cam arrangement to be hereinafter described, are omitted from the drawings. design and need not be described in detail. On the other hand, if these were included in the drawings, the drawings would be so cluttered that they would be difficult to understand and furthermore would interfere with the clear illustration of the novel features of .the

Figure I'is a ever, to facilitate the description of the drawing, the

outside wall of side frame 1 is notshown. When the ironer is in use, the rollers are lowered to engage the chests. On the other hand, when not in use, the rollers are raised, generally 2" to 4" above the chests, in order to avoid damaging the padding on the rollers and also to permit removing, repairing or replacing the padding when necessary. Raising and lowering the rollers are accomplished in any suitable manner. In the case here illustrated, this is accomplished by means of gears, not shown, and cam 27 connecting through rod 28 and'bearing assembly 29 to pressure beam 30 at one end, and

cam 31 connecting through rod 32 and bearing assembly 33 to pressure beam 3%) at the other end. The pressure These can be conventional Similarly, coupling 46 is welded to header 34 and connccted through nipple 47, hand control valve 48, nipple 49, coupling 50, flexible tubing 51, coupling 52, nipple 53, coupling 54 and nipple 55 to rotary pressure .io'int 56 and thereby to roller 6. Likewise, .coupling 57 is welded to header 34 and connected through nipple 58, hand control valve 59, nipple 60, coupling 61, flexible tubing 62, coupling 63, nipple 6.4, coupling '65 and nipple 66 to rotary pressurejoint 67 and roller 8. Also, coupling 68 is welded to header 34 and connected through nipple 69, hand control valve 70, nipple 71, coupling 72, flexible tubing 73, coupling 74, nipple 75, coupling 76 and nipple 77 to rotary pressure joint 78 and roller 10. In a similar manner, coupling 79 is'welded to header 34 and connected through nipple 80, hand control valve 81, nipple 82, coupling 83, flexible tubing '84, coupling 85, nipple 86, coupling 87 and nipple 88 to rotary pressure joint 89 and roller 12. It is understood that any other suitable method of distributing steam from header'34 to the rollers may be employed.

A preferred rotary pressure joint is illustrated in Figure II. Steam enters through nipple 90 and coupling 91 into opening 92 and passes through ports 93 and nipple 94 into roller 95, the latter corresponding to rollers 4, 6, 8, and 12. In the assembly illustrated, nipple 94 is the o'nly rotating member and has a convex hemispherical collar 95 whichrotates against the matching concave sur- ,face of carbon-graphite seal ring 96. The bearing surface of nipple 94 rotates in carbon-graphite guide 97 which, in turn, is closely fitted into the body. Spring 98 maintains an initial sealing pressure within the joint.

'The assembly is connected by attaching flanges 99 and 100by means of bolts 191, and is journaled through bearing assembly 102 into the roller. In order to prevent the rotary joint from binding or seizing, a stop rod 103 is inserted in front opening 104- as illustrated in Figure I.

Condensate collected within the roller is continuously withdrawn by means of the syphon arrangement shown in Figure II. Condensate passes through pipe 105, elbow joint 106 and pipe 107 into opening1'08 and out through nipple 109, coupling 110 and nipple 111. In the case here illustrated, the condensate is collected in a common header and disposed of in any suitable manner. This is shown in Figure I, in which nipple 112, coupling 113 and nipple 114 leaving roller 4 correspond, respectively, to nipple 109, coupling 110 and nipple 111 shown in Figure 11. The condensate then passes through coupling 115, flexible tubing.116, coupling 117, nipple 118, elbow 119, nipple 120, conventional water trap 121, nipple 122, elbow 123 and nipple 124 which is welded or otherwise suitably attached to header 125. Similarly, condensate collected in roller 6 is withdrawn therefrom through nipple 126, coupling 127, nipple 128, coupling 129, flexible tubing 130, coupling 131, nipple 132, elbo'w 133, nipple 134, water trap 135, nipple 136, elbow 137 and nipple 138 welded to header 125. Likewise, condensate from roller .8 passes through nipple 139, coupling 149, nipple 141, coupling 142, flexible tubing 143, coupling 144, nipple 145, elbow 146, nipple 147, water trap 148, nipple 149, elbow 150 and nipple 151 to header 125. In a similar manner, condensate from roller 10 passes through nipple 152, coupling 153, nipple 154, couple 155, flexible tubing 156, coupling 157, nipple 158, elbo'w 159, .nipple 160, water trap 161, nipple 162, elbow 163 and nipple 164 welded to header 125. Also, as partly shown, condensate from-roller 12 passes through nipple 165, coupling 166, nipple 167, coupling 168 and flexible tubing 169 to join with header 125 in the same manner as hereinbefore described. Here again, it is understood that any suitable manner of withdrawing condensate from the rollers may be employed. The rotary pressure joint illustrated in the drawings is available in the open market and it or any other suitable arrangement may be employed in the present invention.

Figure III is a View of the side of the ironer opposite to that illustrated in Figure I. Numeral 170 designates the right side frame, which is bolted by tie rod 2, secured by nut 171, to the left side frame shown in Figure I. Feed bracket 172 is attached to frame 170. Figure III also shows feed ribbon or belt 25, rollers 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12, and chests 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13. Shafts 174, 175, 176, 177 and 178 for the respective rollers are connected by chain and gear arrangements to motivating means, all of which has been omitted from the drawing in the interest of simplicity as hereinbefore set forth. Also shown in Figure III are cam 179 connecting through rod 180 and bearing assembly 181 to pressure beam 182 at one end and cam 183 connecting through rod 184 and bearing assembly 185 to pressure beam 182 at the other end.

As hereinbefore set forth, the side frames generally are cast with openings therein. This is illustrated in Figure III wherein openings 186, 187 and 188 are provided in order to allow passage of the piping and other equipment and also to allow inspection, adjustment and repair of the equipment as required.

Figure III illustrates one method of supplying steam to the chests. Steam is supplied from any suitable source at the desired temperature to header 189 and distributed therefrom through suitable connections to the chests. In the case here illustrated, nipple 199 is welded or otherwise suitably attached to header 189 and connected through elbow 191, nipple 192, conventional steam trap 193, nipple 194, elbow joint 195, coupling 196, flexible pipe or tubing 197, coupling 198 and nipple 199 which is welded to, threaded into or otherwise suitably attached to chest 5. Similarly, nipple 280 is welded to'header 189 and connected through elbow 201, nipple 202, steam trap 203, nipple 204, elbow joint 2G5, coupling 206, tubing .207, coupling 208 and nipple 209 to chest 7. Also, nipple 210 is welded to header 189 and connected through elbow 211, nipple 212, steam trap 213, nipple 214, elbow joint 215, coupling 216, tubing 217, coupling 218 and nipple 219 to chest 9. In a similar manner, nipple 220 is welded to header 189 and connected through elbow 221, nipple 222, steam trap 223, nipple 224, elbow joint 225, coupling 226, tubing 227, coupling 228 and nipple 229 to chest 11. Likewise, nipple 230 is welded to header 189 and connected through elbow 231, nipple 232, steam trap 233, nipple 234, elbow joint 235, coupling 236, tubing 237, coupling 238 and nipple 239 to chest 13. It is understood that any other suitable method of introducing steam into the chests may be employed. Condensate is removed from the opposite side of the chests as illustrated in Figure I of the drawings.

It is understood that headers 34, 125 and 189 may be supported in any suitable manner. Figure IV illustrates one method of supporting header 189 and also shows the tubing passing through opening 88 in side frame 170 and entering chest 11. Bent plate 240 is firmly attached by bolts 241 and 242 to the side frame. A suitable number of similar bent plates will be distributed along the length of header 189 to adequately support the same.

From the above description, it will be noted that steam is supplied to both the rollers and the chests, all of which are hollow and all of which contribute to the even distribution of the heat to the fiatwork in a quicker and better manner. Another advantage to the ironer of the present invention is that the increased evaporation of moisture from the upperside of the rollers during use serves to prevent the paddings on the rollers from becoming overheated and will prolong the useful life of the paddings.

Depending on the particular fiatwork being ironed, it may be necessary to supply heat to all of the rollers or to only a portion of the rollers as, for example, the

first, the first two, the first three, the first four, etc. In general, the thinner the flatwork, the less heat is required and, in such case, sufiicient heat may be provided by heating only the first two, for example, of a series of six rollers. In any event, heat must be supplied to at least one of the rollers. The supply of heat to the rollers is readily regulated by suitably adjusting valves 37, 48, 59, 70, 81, etc.

In general it is preferred to supply the steam at the same temperature to both the rollers and the chests and, in this embodiment, one steam header may serve both the rollers and the chests. In another embodiment, the steam may be supplied to the rollers and chests at different temperatures and this may be accomplished by utilizing diiferent sources of steam to the various headers and/or by proper regulation of valves 37, 48, 59, 70, 81, etc.

The steam generally will be supplied at a temperature above about 275 F. and preferably from about 300 to about 350 F. and accordingly at a pressure of above about 45 pounds per square inch and preferably of from about 67 to about 135 pounds.

As a specific example of an ironer constructed in accordance with the present invention, rollers 4, 6, 8, and 12 are 12" in diameter and made of standard black seamless pipe. The rollers are padded with /2" cotton padding. The rollers and chests are all heated with steam at a temperature of about 340 F., the steam being supplied at a pressure of about 120 pounds. The

two steam intake headers and the two condensate return headersare each 2%" diameter pipe.

I claim as my invention:

1. An ironer comprising, in combination, a plurality of chests, a steam header, means for introducing steam from said header to said chests, means for removing.

whereby heat is supplied simultaneously to both sides of flatwork passing between the chest and the-roller;

2. An ironer comprising, in combination, a pair of side frames, a plurality of chests positioned between said side frames, a steam header. positioned adjacent to but on the outside of one of said side frames, means for introducing steam from said header to said chests, a plurality of rollers positioned between said side frames and immediately above said chests andin contact therewith, a second steam header positioned adjacent to but on the outside of the other of said side frames, means for introducing steam from said second header'to said rollers, a condensate header positioned adjacent to but on the outside of said first mentioned side frame, and means for passing condensate from said rollers to said condensate header, whereby heat is supplied simultaneously to both sides of flatwork passing between the chest and the roller.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 191,997 Ostermoor June 12, 1877 733,224 Levy July 7,1903 1,171,970 Mertens Feb. 15, 1916. 1,608,351 Waream Nov. 23, 1926 1,689,462 Trotter et al. Oct. 30, 1928 1,757,344 Stotfel May 6, 1930 2,156,712 West May 2, 1939 

